In retrospect, Everett Golson’s career at Notre Dame will be remembered for only one year. It was a noteworthy year, to be sure. A 12-0 regular season and an appearance in the national championship game warrants memory for decades to come, no matter how that final game played out.

But then Golson missed a season due to an academic suspension, and 2014’s four-game losing streak to finish the year at 8-5 was unsatisfying in most every regard for Irish fans.

The highs of 2012 will rightfully keep Golson’s name in Notre Dame conversations. It may be another of his highlights, though, that affects Irish football long-term. When he connected with tight end Ben Koyack for a nearly-last-minute 23-yard touchdown to top Stanford, 17-14, on Oct. 4, 2014, a few particular high school seniors were in attendance.

They now make up the core trio of playmakers on Notre Dame’s offense, all juniors: quarterback Brandon Wimbush, receiver Equanimeous St. Brown and running back Josh Adams. At that point, only Adams had committed to the Irish.

“Great game, it was a cold one,” Adams remembered this week. “We ended up winning the game late in the fourth quarter. … That was a lot of fun, just me and [St. Brown and Wimbush]. That was the start of something special.”

Whenever anyone recites details from events three years later, those specifics should be checked. All of Adams’ recollection checks out, particularly that temperature.

Wimbush committed immediately after the visit, filling the quarterback void in the class created by the de-commitment of Blake Barnett. (Extra points if anyone can name where Barnett plays now. No cheating. Clue: He has completed 2-of-3 passes for 21 yards this season in one appearance. Answer at the bottom.)

St. Brown made the Irish coaching staff wait until National Signing Day to make his decision.

Now, the trio lead an offense averaging 41.6 points per game. Of Notre Dame’s 26 offensive touchdowns, 18 come from Adams, St. Brown and Wimbush in one way or another. Junior running back Dexter Williams may have been the more-heralded recruit and certainly is a contributor, but it is Adams’ physicality that sets the Irish rushing game’s tone. Wimbush has yet to find the needed accuracy in the passing game, but it is his multitude of ways to hurt a defense keeping opponents on their heels. St. Brown hasn’t broken loose this year like he did in 2016, but imagine the current underachieving receiver corps without him leading the way.

Admittedly, this is largely speculation, but it does not seem far-fetched. If Golson had not found Koyack on that fourth-and-11 with 1:01 left, Wimbush may have left Notre Dame Stadium notably less enthused about the Irish program. Should one play dictate an individual’s college decision? No, but when discussing high school seniors, let’s acknowledge the reality such an effect may certainly exist.

That is the pitfall of recruiting when struggling. It is the benefit of recruiting when Golson can spot Koyack’s 6-foot-5 frame in the corner of the end zone.

The win lifted Notre Dame to 5-0. Wimbush added another version of a win that week. In time, so did St. Brown.

Success tends to beget success.

Keep that in mind as the Irish look to go 5-1 this weekend at North Carolina (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC). It may not be a big recruiting weekend (it’s not), it may not catch much attention (then again, ABC), it may not be a close contest (it won’t be), but if success begets success, then this year’s continued momentum could yield unexpected rewards three years down the line.

This may be the perfect weekend to bring up this memory. Not only was Wednesday three years to-the-day from the dramatic victory, but Saturday may present a chance to see what Notre Dame would look like this season without Wimbush. Even if sophomore quarterback Ian Book excels, imagine relying on him for the entire year. If nothing else, it would lower this team’s ceiling.

Two NCAA notesTwo pieces of NCAA proposed legislation should at least be mentioned in these parts. Neither item is yet approved, and that will not come until January of 2018 at the earliest, but both seem uncontroversial enough such implementation should come.

On-campus recruiting may be limited to only 30 designated staffers. Included in those 30 would be the head coach, the 10 assistant coaches and the four graduate assistants. (The 10th assistant coach will come into effect this coming season. Currently, staff size is limited to nine, hence why Tom Rees is technically a Notre Dame graduate assistant, though he is referred to as the quarterbacks coach.)

The intention is to narrow the recruiting focus to the actual football staff, not everyone under the sun.

“We feel we have reinforced the rules that are already on the books,” said Bob Bowlsby, chair of the Football Oversight Committee and the commissioner of the Big 12. “The head coach, the soon-to-be 10 assistants and the four graduate assistants are the people who are supposed to be coaching student-athletes, preparing them for the game and doing the recruiting.”

Thirty may seem a high cap. Perhaps it is, but it being a cap at all is the worthwhile aspect.

A date to remember: Aug, 3, 2018.

That is four weeks and a day before the Irish host Michigan (Sept. 1) to open the 2018 season. It is also the first day Notre Dame could practice under the committee’s proposal. That time period allows for 25 preseason practices plus a mandatory day off each week.

In other words, Irish coach Brian Kelly will meet with the media Thursday, Aug. 2, to start another year of football.

But it’s still 2017. Notre Dame faces the Tar Heels in 23.5 hours. This posted about an hour before the New York Yankees face the Cleveland Indians in game two of the American League Divisional Series. That should be a suitable Friday night holdover until football commences tomorrow.

Yankees starting pitcher CC Sabathia will not have a drink. Perhaps you may.

Trivia answer: Blake Barnett is the backup quarterback for Arizona State these days. His only playing time thus far this season came with the Sun Devils up three possessions in the fourth quarter against New Mexico State.

This is not to diminish the losses of receiver Miles Boykin and consensus first-team All-American cornerback Julian Love. Notre Dame will miss both of them, Love in particular. But looking at the Irish depth chart, there are avenues to survival without both.

Notre Dame will return two starting receivers in rising senior Chase Claypool and fifth-year-to-be Chris Finke (speaking of which, see below). A number of options exist to replace Love, though obviously none will match his shutdown abilities. Either rising sophomore TaRiq Bracy will put on the necessary muscle to compete with receivers at this level or rising senior Donte Vaughn will return reinvigorated with health after recent surgery to repair a torn labrum surgery or rising sophomore Houston Griffith will move from safety to get his talent on the field or fifth-year Shaun Crawford will recover from an ACL tear quicker than expected or … or … or … If one of those pans out, the Irish defense should be comfortable in its coverage, buoyed by the stalwart safety combination of Alohi Gilman and Jalen Elliott. (Imagine sincerely saying “stalwart safety combination” just six months ago.)

Look again at the depth chart, and such luxuries do not exist at defensive end. If rising seniors Khalid Kareem and Julian Okwara had not opted to return, Notre Dame’s 2019 dreams would have hit a lowered ceiling nine months before the season began. By no means were they certain high-round draft picks, but the allure of athletic and talented defensive ends may have easily led to some outsized draft hopes.

Their backups are certainly more than capable — rising seniors Daelin Hayes and Ade Ogundeji — but a talented second-unit is as important at defensive end as dangerous starters are. To replace the latter with the former is to diminish the entire enterprise outright.

The Irish could not have recovered from losing both Kareem and Okwara, at least not to the extent where Playoff talk would be viable again. Lose one and it would have still been dubious, at best.

Take a look at the teams expected to be in the mix for the Playoff. Using current championship odds … Clemson at 2-to-1, Alabama at just less than 3-to-1, Georgia at 6-to-1, Ohio State at 8-to-1, Michigan at 16-to-1 and then Oklahoma also at 16-to-1. Those first five have been known for their defenses more than anything else in recent years. Bookmakers put some faith in their ability to reload on the fly.

Notre Dame has not earned that trust, and its roster does not indicate it should have. As well as Justin Ademilola performed as a freshman in four games, inserting him into a pivotal role in 2019 would likely be a recipe for a mediocre season. He is another year of development away from being ready for that role, barring a Matt Balis-induced excellent offseason.

The Irish will need Kareem and Okwara to survive the losses of defensive tackles Jerry Tillery and Jonathan Bonner, but if they play as they did in 2018, that is a reasonable ask. If they continue to develop, it becomes a probability more than a Notre Dame leap of faith.

The Irish will miss Boykin’s back-shoulder reliability and everything about Love, but Brian Kelly and his coaching staff coaxed back the two most-pivotal pieces from NFL draft consideration.

Speaking of Finke, he confirmed his intent to return for his final year of eligibility Thursday evening. And he did it in a way only befitting a man comfortable in his own skin.

With the Wednesday announcement of current junior linebacker D.J. Morgan’s intention to transfer this summer as a graduate with two years of eligibility remaining, Notre Dame’s roster drops to 87 scholarship players expected this coming fall. Included among them, at least 12, possibly 14 linebackers. Before explaining that …

Morgan finishes his Irish career with two tackles in two 2017 appearances as a safety. He moved to linebacker during 2018’s spring practices, but never came particularly close to playing time. It remained difficult to see him cracking into the rotation moving forward given the quality of recruiting classes at the position in the last two cycles.

“I would like to thank the University of Notre Dame for everything they have done for me,” Morgan wrote on Twitter. “When I decided to come here, my main goal was to get my degree from this prestigious University, and I am proud to see that I will be completing that goal this summer!

“During this time I will be searching for a new school to attend as a graduate transfer to finish off my last 2 years of eligibility.”

(@deundraymorgan)

Before facing Louisville on Labor Day, the Irish will need to be down to 85 scholarship players. At 87 now, that does not include incoming freshman J.D. Bertrand, who had a recruitment handled in a deliberate fashion so as to make him eligible for an academic scholarship. Notre Dame also continues to chase two defenders — consensus four-star linebacker Asa Turner and consensus four-star defensive end Isaiah Foskey — who could balloon the roster count further.

Lacey will need to be ready for at least four games next season, especially with three of these six returning from injury: Tagovailoa-Amosa with a broken foot, though he did at least take some snaps against Clemson; Franklin from a torn quad that will limit him through the spring; and Spears from a torn ACL that could conceivably cost him 2019.

Former Notre Dame quarterback Brandon Wimbush will continue his career at Central Florida. Wimbush announced his graduate transfer destination Tuesday morning.

“The journey continues on …,” Wimbush wrote on Instagram. “A sincere thank you to Notre Dame for giving me endless opportunities on and off the field. Words truly can not (sic) describe what this incredible University and the PEOPLE mean to me and always will mean to me. I’m truly thankful. Cannot say it enough.

“With that being said, I am excited to announce that UCF has granted me an awesome opportunity to play my last year of collegiate football for their great University.”

Wimbush will enter into a starting opportunity, although an unfortunate one and a competitive one. The late November horrendous knee injury to three-year starter McKenzie Milton will almost-assuredly sideline him through the 2019 season. If not for the injury, Milton would either be starting 2019 for the Knights or headed to the NFL.

In his first year of any action, sophomore Darriel Mack played in 10 games for Central Florida, completing 51 of his 100 pass attempts for 619 yards and three touchdowns, including going 35-of-71 for 526 yards and three scores in the two-plus games Milton missed.

Wimbush finishes his Irish career with a 13-3 record as a starter, including four wins during 2018’s unbeaten regular season. After the Notre Dame offense failed to break 24 points in the first three games of the season, offensive coordinator Chip Long turned to Ian Book for a spark, one Book provided and then some.

Wimbush’s role became non-existent after that, aside from a Senior Day start in place of an injured Book, throwing for 130 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 68 yards.

Mustipher and Co. will now have reason to keep an eye on the Knights in 2019. After going 25-1 in the last two seasons, Central Florida will want to keep the momentum rolling, particularly with Stanford arriving in Orlando on Sept. 14, a week before the Knights head to Pittsburgh. The Knights genuinely entering the College Football Playoff conversation remains unlikely, but topping those two before rolling through the American Athletic Conference would at least start the discussion, especially if a former Irish quarterback headlines the way.

Named 2018’s Next Man In, Wimbush finishes his Irish career with 2,606 yards on 193-of-382 passing with 20 touchdowns and 12 interceptions along with 1,155 rushing yards and 16 additional touchdowns.

AS FOR NOTRE DAME’S QB IN 2019 …Early Heisman odds came from an online sportsbook Tuesday, betonline.ag. Irish rising senior Ian Book was given 16-to-1 odds, tied for ninth on the listing. Given the names ahead of him, Book’s realistic chances of winning the Heisman Trophy are slim. Only Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence and Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa have odds lower than 12-to-1, at 7-to-2 and 4-to-1, respectively.

Then come two Notre Dame opponents — Georgia running back D’Andre Swift and quarterback Jake Fromm, both at 12-to-1. Michigan quarterback Shea Patterson checks in at 25-to-1, just ahead of Stanford quarterback K.J. Costello at 33-to-1.

If nothing else, Book can count on some early-season hype if the Irish top Swift and Fromm on Sept. 21.

Dabo Swinney paid tribute to the late Tyler Trent in his speech while Clemson visited the White House 🙏

A sign of a strong program is one that loses players to the NFL before they exhaust eligibility. In that vein, Notre Dame lost a consensus first-team All-American cornerback, its leading receiver and a long-time tease of a tight end. The last of those (Alizé Mack) was never expected back for a fifth season; replacing Miles Boykin’s production is certainly within reason; and a consensus first-team All-American should be expected to take the route junior Julian Love has.

Even with that expectation, losing Love — and to a lesser extent, Boykin — alters the natural roster cycle, the inherent design intended during recruiting. Reloading is always the hope, the next intention, but very rarely is the young backup comparable to the near professional, even by the end of the coming season.

Nonetheless, the Irish got off easy this cycle compared to four of their 2019 opponents …

GEORGIA: Junior running back Elijah Holyfield, the Bulldogs’ second-leading rusher, departs after gaining 1,018 rushing yards with seven touchdowns on 6.4 yards per carry this season. Frankly, that is the least of Georgia’s losses. Three of quarterback Jake Fromm’s four favorite targets will leave eligibility on the figurative table:

Without running back Karan Higdon, Michigan will presumably rely on its passing game more in 2019, quarterback Shea Patterson’s second season as a Wolverine. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

MICHIGAN: The Wolverines got good news when quarterback Shea Patterson opted to return for 2019, but losing leading-rusher Karan Higdon (1,178 yards, 10 touchdowns, 5.3 average) will be an issue head coach Jim Harbaugh undoubtedly hoped to avoid. Junior tight end Zach Gentry, Patterson’s third-most prolific target with 32 catches for 514 yards and two scores, will also head to the next level.

On the flip side, Harbaugh could have hoped linebacker Devin Bush (team-leading 80 tackles with 9.5 for loss including five sacks), defensive end Rashan Gary (44 tackles with seven for loss including 3.5 sacks) or linebacker David Long (17 tackles with one interception) might return, but no such luck for Michigan.

Duke junior quarterback Daniel Jones will head to the NFL after his third season as a starter, immediately lowering the Blue Devils’ 2019 expectations. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)

DUKE: Junior linebacker Joe Giles-Harris paced the Blue Devils with 81 tackles, including seven for loss with one sack, doing so in only nine games. But losing Giles-Harris is hardly the concern for Duke. The decision to turn pro from quarterback Daniel Jones is.

In his third year as a starter, the junior fought through a broken collarbone to still play in 11 games in 2018, completing 60.5 percent of his passes for 2,674 yards and 22 touchdowns with nine interceptions. He added 319 rushing yards and three touchdowns.

Jones’ decision may come as a surprise, but it is one that should work out well for both him and Notre Dame. Some mock drafts project him as a top-10 pick. In a draft light on quarterbacks — partly because Oregon’s Justin Herbert returned for another season, yet already somewhat counteracted by the Monday draft entry from Oklahoma’s Kyler Murray — Jones could end up being the third or fourth passer picked.

BOSTON COLLEGE: The Eagles will say farewell to junior cornerback Hemp Cheevers after he notched seven interceptions this season, returning one for a touchdown, to go along with 39 tackles.

STANFORD: This will seem like the Cardinal lost a lot to the NFL draft, but it could have been worse: As the departures mounted, so did speculation junior quarterback K.J. Costello might follow them. He opted not to.

Stanford will be without running back Bryce Love after his prodigious two seasons as the starter. Consider that a loss akin to the Irish Love, the inevitable price of enjoying the success in the first place.

Junior receiver J.J. Arcega-Whiteside will capitalize on his breakout season of 1,059 yards and 14 touchdowns, depriving Costello of his favorite jump-ball threat.

Junior tight end Kaden Smith will also head to the next level, in large part thanks to his 47 catches for 635 yards and two touchdowns this past season.

Louisville, New Mexico, Virginia, Bowling Green, USC, Virginia Tech and Navy all did not lose anyone early or pseudo-early to the NFL draft.